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India likely to have 400 mn fliers in 7-10 years, says Scindia
Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also pointed out that the growth rate of non-metro or regional airports was much higher than those in metro cities
India is likely to double its total air passengers in 7-10 years with around 400 million flyers expected to travel in the country by then, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday.
He also said that the country’s fleet of aircraft, which is around 700 at the moment, will increase to more than 1,200 in five years.
“India saw around 140 million domestic and 60 million international passengers (total 200 million) pre-pandemic and with the growth, we should be able to double our passenger traffic in the coming seven to 10 years,” Scindia said at a conference organised by industry body Assocham.
He also said there are tremendous growth opportunities for domestic airlines. “India had 400 aircraft in 2013-14. Currently, India has 700 aircraft, and we are adding a delta of almost 15% per annum. We should be able to see a 1,200-aircraft fleet in five years.”
Speaking on the development of airports, the minister said there has been a paradigm shift on this front.
“In 2013-14, we had 74 airports… we have added another 67 airports in the last eight years,” he said. “We will have 220 airports, including heliports and aerodromes by 2026.”
He further said: “From an airline perspective, growth opportunities are tremendous... We are now closely competing with Indian Railways in our segment of competition, which is limited to the 1AC and 2AC. The Railways transport only around 185 million passengers (1AC and 2AC), growing at 5.6% in terms of CAGR (compound annual growth rate) while the civil aviation is growing at 10.3%.”
Scindia also pointed out that the growth rate of non-metro or regional airports was much higher than those in metro cities.
“Metro growth rate which was around 7.8% during 2010-2015 is almost the same (around 8-9%) at the moment. However, the growth rate of non-metros or regional airports has jumped to almost 31% from 10.5% during 2010-15,” he said. “The future growth, hence, is going to come from regional airports.”
The minister termed “significant” the start of new airline, Akasa, and future launch of erstwhile Jet Airways.
He also said the civil aviation ministry has given approval for the hiring of 370 air traffic controllers (ATCOs). “This (hiring) will be done by December this year and the ministry is also trying to add 470 additional ATCOs to augment capacity,” he added.
